Chapter 40: Should Fish Be Braised or Steamed?
Before leaving, Yu Niang gave him a basket of vegetables, including pumpkins she had just picked, a few sweet potatoes, a few bunches of cabbage, and half a bag of rice and flour. Lu Qiong didn't want to take it for free, so he left a small piece of silver on the table.
After putting the vegetables away at home, she planned to take Lu Xuan to buy some firewood from Zhou, a woodcutter at the foot of the mountain.
He had a close relationship with the original owner's parents, and Lu Qiong always called him Uncle Zhou. They would usually visit each other during festivals, but today all the mooncakes had been distributed, so he had to come empty-handed.
The woodcutter Zhou lived alone here. Besides going up the mountain to gather firewood, he would go to the river to fish. Now, he even had his own homemade nets and traps in his house, which gave off a very faint fishy smell that you couldn't detect unless you smelled them carefully.
Lu Qiong took a liking to the small fish basket displayed in the yard, pointed to the corner of the wall and asked, "Uncle Zhou, can you sell me this fish basket?"
The woodcutter, Zhou, had a scar on his face, and his skin was rough from years of wind and sun exposure. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "What do you need this basket for?"
"Let's go fishing." Lu Qiong smiled sheepishly.
Woodcutter Zhou frowned upon hearing this, walked straight to the corner of the wall, picked up the fish basket, and said, "It's just a broken basket, it's worthless, you can take it."
Lu Qiong was embarrassed, but Uncle Zhou refused to take the money, and when she got angry, her voice rose: "If you keep this up, I won't sell you firewood."
Fearing he really wouldn't give her the firewood, Lu Qiong accepted it: "Thank you, Uncle Zhou. I'll bring you food next time."
The bundle of firewood was a bit heavy, so the woodcutter Zhou bent down and tied it with hemp rope he twisted by hand, muttering to himself, "They're all so skinny, and they still brought me food. I'm lucky they don't starve themselves. If they find out, they'll worry themselves to death..."
Lu Qiong didn't hear what he was saying. She walked in front and carried the basket, while Lu Xuan dragged it from behind, with the fish basket also hanging from her waist with a rope.
Before leaving, he smiled and said goodbye to the woodcutter Zhou: "Uncle Zhou, we're off!"
The woodcutter remained calm, yet he watched them leave.
Lu Qiong squatted on the ground. Zhou, the woodcutter, had already processed the firewood, chopping it into several pieces, which were now piled up next to the stove.
The firewood had gotten damp and wasn't dry yet. If she lit it directly, it would easily smoke, and it would be a shame to throw it away. After thinking about it, she decided to move it to the yard. Luckily, it had been sunny these past few days, so it should be usable after drying.
Back in the kitchen, Lu Xuan was staring at the pumpkin in the bamboo basket, her fingers tracing the lines on the pumpkin skin, her brows furrowing slightly, and she even sighed.
Lu Qiong took out the pumpkin. Choosing a pumpkin is like choosing a watermelon; you can tell if it's ripe by tapping it—a dull sound means it's ripe. Actually, pumpkins will be sweeter if left to air out for a few days, but they don't have that time right now.
Seeing that Lu Xuan was still sighing, perhaps worried about Li Jie'er, she teased, "Frowning will turn you into an old man!"
Lu Xuan rested her chin on her hands and casually replied, "I wonder how Xue'er is doing in Bianjing? I've never been away from him for so long."
Lu Qiong knew this was an excuse, but she still comforted her, "Are you worried about this? But Xue'er will definitely be fine with Jin Niang. She's been given plenty of food, so she won't go hungry. If you're worried, we'll go back the day after tomorrow."
Just now, Sister Li explained the situation at the time, which can be described as good intentions gone wrong.
Jiang Su was well-liked in the village. Thinking that it would be difficult to see her again in the future, Li Jie'er bought some pastries to take with her, hoping to help her if she could. Little did she know that she would accidentally bump into the wooden box on the table.
The lock on the box was broken, and the gold hairpin fell to the ground and broke in two.
However, Li Jie'er believed that the hairpin was bad to begin with, but unfortunately there was no evidence, and she had to accept her fate because she had to associate herself with someone like Granny Liu.
Yu Niang also planned to pay the money back, otherwise she was afraid it would damage Li Jie'er's future reputation, but there was too much money and it would be difficult to pay it all at once.
They couldn't help anyway, and staying there would only be a hindrance, so they came back early.
Fearing that Lu Xuan would be affected by this, Lu Qiong picked up the pumpkin and put it on the table next to her: "Go to the yard and fetch some water. We'll make pumpkin porridge later. You've been talking about it for a long time."
Once she has something to do, Lu Xuan quickly forgets these worries.
Pumpkin porridge is perfect for autumn, with its golden color, warm texture, and simple preparation. In Lu Qiong's opinion, it's definitely the first bowl of porridge of autumn.
She peeled and cut the remaining half of the pumpkin into chunks, steamed it in a pot, mashed it into a puree, added sugar and flour to form a dough, and then divided it into small portions.
Lu Xuan also helped out, but the pumpkin puree was too hot, so she had to breathe on it while kneading.
Seeing her like this, Lu Qiong couldn't help but laugh.
Last autumn, they also planted pumpkins in their yard. The first one they picked was made into pumpkin pancakes, which were fried in oil in a pan. The resulting pumpkin pancakes were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a sweet taste. When you bite into them, they are very hot inside, but also soft and chewy, and not greasy.
Not only at Lu Qiong's house, but also elsewhere, wisps of smoke rose from chimneys.
"The firewood in the stove has gone out! The porridge has been overcooked."
While there was still a little light at dusk, Granny Liu moved a low stool and sat in the yard to weave bamboo baskets. Inadvertently, a sharp bamboo strip cut her fingertip, and blood quickly appeared.
"Oh dear, this broken bamboo..."
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Su hurriedly came out of the kitchen, took her hand and examined it carefully, and said softly, "Grandma, why don't we light a lamp? It's too dark."
Granny Liu pulled her hand away, frowning: "Lighting lamps is free, isn't it? And is the pumpkin porridge ready yet? Don't let it burn and go to waste."
Jiang Su knew that this was always her nature, so she didn't take it to heart. She tore off a strip of cloth and wrapped it around Granny Liu's hand.
"I've been watching the fire the whole time, and it's done now."
The words that Granny Liu was about to say were cut off, and she was speechless. She had no choice but to find another thing to do.
She kicked the bamboo baskets at her feet aside, and seeing Jiang Su's submissive appearance, she said irritably, "Go and get that money back tomorrow, don't let them renege on it."
I'm talking about what happened at Yu Niang's place today.
Jiang Su lowered her head, not daring to meet Granny Liu's harsh gaze: "But this hairpin is clearly broken..."
Moreover, it wasn't a betrothal gift; it was her dowry left by her deceased mother, which had been broken before.
Granny Liu clutched her chest, looking as if she couldn't breathe, and cried to the sky, "I'm old now, I can't persuade you anymore? Your mother was in poor health and passed away early. I asked someone to find you a good marriage, and you'll be getting married in a few days. There's only me and your brother left at home. If we don't leave some money, how will we survive in the future?"
Jiang Su felt helpless whenever her mother was mentioned. She also felt that Lu Xuan was innocent and should not be involved, so she could only bite her lip and remain silent.
Seeing her silence, Granny Liu knew she was wavering, so she sobbed softly, "When your mother was buried, I had to swallow my pride and borrow money from everyone I knew, and I still haven't paid it all back..."
"My life is so miserable..."
Although Granny Liu didn't have a good reputation in the village, she was the closest person to Jiang Su, and she couldn't let go of Granny Liu in her heart.
In the end, Jiang Su gave in, sighed, and said helplessly, "Let's talk about this tomorrow. Let's eat the porridge first, or it will get cold soon."
These words were like medicine; Granny Liu stopped crying instantly, her anger subsided, and she dusted off her trousers and went to the kitchen. Not afraid of getting burned, she lifted the lid of the pot with her bare hands and eagerly ladled out a bowl of porridge to cool it down.
Jiang Su, who was initially worried about her, was speechless.
...
During these few days of autumn harvest, the weather has cooled down. The quilts that Lu Qiong brought back were too thin, and as a result, she woke up cold in the middle of the night and had to dig out her old thick quilts.
It has a certain smell.
But for now, we can only make do.
Lu Qiong moved a quilt to the next bedroom. Lu Xuan was also shivering from the cold and felt better after adding another quilt.
After autumn arrives, winter is not far away. When I go back to Bianjing, I will need to buy some new bedding and warm clothes, otherwise I will not be able to get through this winter.
The next day, just as dawn broke, Lu Qiong was awakened by the crowing of her neighbor's rooster.
The two had agreed to go fishing by the river last night, and Lu Xuan got up early, put on her outer garment, and excitedly went to the well to fetch water.
She was about to wash up when she was startled by the cold water: "Sister, this water is so cold."
"It's been cold these past few days. When we get back to Bianjing, we'll have to go buy winter clothes."
Lu Xuan's bangs were quite wet, and she grinned as she heard this: "Then I want to buy a new padded jacket, and I want to fill it with cattail fluff."
Reed catkins?
Lu Qiong laughed at her for being unambitious: "I bought you the best cotton-padded clothes, and they were made with cotton that was transported from elsewhere."
Lu Xuan asked with some doubt: "Is it warmer than reed catkins?"
Ordinary families use dry straw to get through the winter, and the better ones use reed catkins. She had never heard of cotton.
Lu Qiong brushed aside her bangs, revealing her smooth forehead, and nodded with a smile: "Of course, you'll see when you see it."
Lu Xuan soon stopped worrying about it, tied the fish basket around her waist, and walked to the riverbank, skipping and hopping along the way.
While everyone else was harvesting rice, only they had time to go fishing. The river in Shangyuan Village wasn't deep; even barefoot, it only went up to their knees. The water was very clear, and you could see all the stones underwater.
Lu Xuan dug up some earthworms from someone else's field, put them all in a small bamboo tube, took a few and put them in a fish basket, then put the basket into the water.
Fearing the fish basket would be washed away by the water, Lu Qiong found a large rock and tied it to the fish basket with straw rope.
There are techniques to catching fish, and the timing is also important. It is generally easier to catch fish in the morning or at dusk. If you go at noon, it is too hot, and the fish will not come out but will hide in the shade.
Now is the perfect time.
"There's a fish!" Lu Xuan had been waiting for a long time before she finally saw one, and couldn't help but shout it out.
As a result, the fish got frightened and swam away.
"Ah, it ran away again..."
"Shh!"
Before the fish could swim away, Lu Qiong caught it directly in the fish basket. It was a bit heavy, and it took her some effort to lift the basket out of the water. She looked at the fish with a "kind" expression and said, "This afternoon's lunch is taken care of!"
Lu Xuan peered over the fish basket, only to have her face splashed with water by a splashing fish. Frowning, she ran away in disgust.
Seeing that she was even more disheveled than herself, Lu Qiong laughed even harder.
The two walked back along the original path, chatting about whether to steam, braise, or make soup with the fish, when they saw Jiang Su squatting by the river washing clothes.
She seemed to have finished washing, and as she picked up her bamboo basket to get up, she felt a little awkward making eye contact with Lu Qiong and the other woman. She quickly avoided them and walked in another direction.
However, Lu Qiong and the other man didn't take it seriously, since the important thing now was to satisfy their appetites.
As noon approached, many people finished working in the fields and headed home, where they could chat with Lu Qiong and her companions. Even as they neared home, the two argued about how the fish had been prepared.
"Simmered soup is good..."
Lu Qiong disagreed: "Let's braise it instead. We just had fish soup yesterday."
After speaking, he received no response from Lu Xuan. He turned his head and found that Li Jie'er was squatting outside the courtyard.
Her eyes still seem red?
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